Improvement in making horseshoes



. r N, PETERS. PHOTO-LITHOGFAPNER. wASHiNGTON. D. c.

'by red line yy in Fig. l.

UNTTED STATES PATENT Orrron.

WILLIAM MOREHOUSE, OF BUFFALO, NEW YRK.

IMPROVEMENT IIN MAKING HORSESHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 85d I9, dated December22,1838.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MoRnHoUsn, of Buffalo, in the county of Erieand State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementson Machinery for Making Horseshoes; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1, Sheet l, is a top view'of theimproved machine adapted for bending, pressing, and rolling the metal.Fig. 2, Sheet l, is a diametrical section through the improved machine,taken in the vertical plane indicated Fig. 8, Sheet 2,'is a top view ofthe machine with the pressing and hammering devices broken away, showingbythe aid of red lines the horseshoe metal in the act of being bent, andalso in the act ofy having the heels of a shoe formed. Fig. 4, Sheet 2,is a vertical section through the bending, pressing, and hammeringdevices, taken in the course indicated by red linexxin Fig. 1. Y'Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalgures.

This invention is designed for s,the production of rolled or hammeredhorseshoes, ready for punching and calking upon the fiat surface of arotary table.

Prior to my invention bars of metal were bent so as to producehorseshoe-blanks to be wrought into proper shape for shoes, upon theiiat surface of a rotary table; but in this case the machine was notadapted for shaping horseshoes, nor was such machine so constructed aswould admit of the production of pressed or hammered shoes upon itsrotary table. I am also aware that it is not new to shape and rollhorseshoes upon the periphery of a circular rotary bed, nor to shape androll shoes upon the ilat surface of a rectilinear reciprocating bed, andto none of these features do I make claim of invention.

The main object of my invention is to provide for producing rolled orhammered horseshoes upon the flat surface of a rotary table bysupporting such table upon a solid foundation or bed in such manner thatthe bottom of the table shall lie flatly upon the top surface of thebed, and slide thereon during the operation of producing the shoes. Bythis means I am enabled to properly condense and harden the metal of theshoes, without liability oi' injury to the rotary table, and withoutcausing the same'to vibrate or tremble during said operation, and at thesame time to obtain a continuous rotary motion of the table, and toproduce the shoes ready for calking and punchi g, as will be hereinafterexplained.

Another object of my invention is to adapt a horizontal rotary table forthe reception of the formers or pattern-blocks about which the shoes areproduced, which blocks areadjustable and removable, and are so made asto admit of the formation of a perfect shoe upon them, as will behereinafter explained.

Another object of my invention is to provide, in conjunction with ahorizontal continuously-rotating table, certain devices which willcompress the metal at and near the heels of a shoe, and give the propervertical thickness to the heels during the passage of the shoe from theiirst bending devices to the point for its discharge from the machine,as will be hereinafter explained.

Another object is to combine in a lpractical manner with a horizontalrotary table certain means whereby straight bars of iron of properlength and thickness can be bent in the form of horseshoes, andcondensed and shaped both laterally and vertically, as will behereinafter explained.

To enable others skilled in the art to un- Vderstand my invention, Iwill describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents a horizontal bed orfoundation' of a circularform, and leaving its upper surface evenlydressed for the reception upon it of a circular table, B.

The bed A is mounted upon legs or standards A, and constructed with acircular elevation, a, in the center of its upper surface, which risesas high as the top surface of the table B, and is designed for keepingthis .table in place, but allowing it to revolve freely during theoperation of producing shoes.

The table B, which carries the formers or pattern-blocks g, about whichthe shoes are'.

made, is a circular plate having a hole through its center for receivingthe elevation a on bed A, and also having its bottom surface properlydressed, so as to lie flatly upon the top surface of the bed A, andslide evenly thereonl while revolving around the elevation a. This tableis also constructed with an annular toothed rack, t, upon'theoverhanging portion of its bottom surface, as shown in Fig. 2, into theteeth of which rack a pinion, S, engages, which pinion is keyed on ahorizontal shaft, D, that passes diametrically through the bed A, andcarries on one end a large spur-wheel, E, which gives motion to thehammenshaft G through the medium of the pinion c, as shown. By thesemeans thehammers upon the hammer-shaft will made a great many rotationswhile the table B is revolving once around its axis.

When it is desired to produce rolled or hammered shoes upon the table B,this table, as well as its bed, should be made of sufficient thicknessof metal to insure great strength and rmness; otherwise the pressure ofthe condensingroll or the concussions of the hammers, or both combined,would not only produce the shoes imperfectly, but soon break and destroythe machine. The table B must rest directly upon the top surface of thebed A and slide thereon, to produce good work when rolling or hammeringis required.

At proper distances apart, and concentric to the axis of motion of thetable B, circular depressions are made vertically in the table B, inwhich Acircular plates C are fitted, having the patternblocks C formedupon their upper surfaces. These plates C have short concentric slots jf through them, through which screws f f are passed, that secure theplates down in place to prevent them from turning. By loosening thescrews ff the plates C can be adjusted so that the blocks g will bemoved properly up to and from the work of bending and condensing. y

Just in front of the toe of each block g is a vertical clearing-pin, 71which passes freely through the table B, and at proper time is lifted bya cam-elevation, c, on the top of the table-bed A. The annular groove bin the bottom of table B receives the fixed cam c, as shown in Figs. 2a-nd 4.

The top surface of each pattern-block g is in a plane parallel to thetop surface of the table B, and elevated above this table-surface thethickness of the shoe to be made. The surface upon which the shoe isformed is higher at the toe g' than itis at the heels. This is for thepurpose of allowing the proper vertical thickness to a shoe at itsheels, and to reduce a shoe to the proper thinness at and near the toeportion. The slight inclined surface at the bed r/ of the toe portion ofthe block y is designed to produce the bevel on the inner edge of thebottom side of a shoe.

In constructing the forming or pattern blocks g they should be made ofthe exact shape required for the inner edge of the shoes to be produced;and in order to adapt the machine for making shoes of different sizesand shapes,I shall have form or pattern blocks adapted for every size ofshoe which it may be required to make. By removing the setscrews f theplates C, with their pattern-blocks, can be lifted out of theirdepressions in the table, and otherplates and pattern-blocks substitutedin their stead. If at any time it is found necessary to raise apattermblock, to allow the condensing devices to operate moreefficiently upon a shoe or shoe-blank, a plate of steel of properthickness is introduced beneath the plate C, which will afford thisplate an unyielding bed upon the table B The slices are made from rodsof proper thickness and length, which may be cut from long rods by meansof a rotary cutter applied to the bed of the machine and located just infront of the first bending-rollers; or other suitable means may beadopted for cutting from a long bar blanks of the proper length. Thelong rods may be creased for punching nailholes previously to cutting upinto blanks, so that the work of creasing can be performed during therolling out of the bars.

For the purpose of bending the straight rods or blanks around the toeportions of the pattern-blocks y, I employ two anged rollers, j j,having their hearings in a horizontal bridge-bar, T, and arranged atsuch a distance apart as to allow the pattern-blocks g to pass betweenthem and bend the blanks, a-s indicated in red in Fig. 1. The bridge-barT, carrying bending-rollers j j, has one of its ends secured to thecentral elevation, a, of the bed A, and the other end secured to abracket, T', rising from the circumference of the said bed, as shown inFigs. l and 3. The rollers j j' are anged so that their flanges willoverlap a bar or blank being bent and prevent it from rising from itsbed during this operation. The next operation is to reduce the thicknessof the toe portion of the shoe-blank, and at the same time compress andcondense the front portion of the shoe-blank. This is partially done bymeans of a roller, N, upon a horizontal shaft, n, which is supported byfixed bearings N N This roller alone would cause the metal to curl upwhile condensing and reducing it, to prevent which I arrange in front ofroller N a small roller, P, the shaft p of which is supported in thefixed bearings N', as shown. This small roller P is so arranged withrelation to roller N and the top surface of the table B that it performsthe office of holding down the shoe-blank while the roller N is reducingit vertically. The next operation is to condense the heel portions ofthe shoe-blank laterally, and at the same time give the final shape tothe shoe by bending and pressing it snugly in contact with the edge ofthe pattern g. The effect of condensing the heel portions of the shoes,as above stated, is to thicken these portions vertically and reducetheir width, thus giving the varying thickness required in everyproperly made horseshoe. The heel bending and compressing is effected bymeans of two vibrating cams, 7c 7c, which are pivoted to a horizontalbridge-bar, U, so as to be acted upon by studs Z d upon each one of thepattern-carrying plates C, as shown in Fig. 3. As the shoe-blankssuccessively leave the holding-down roller P and move between the cams7c 7c, the studs d d will cause the free ends of said cams to approacheach other and act upon the heel portions of the shoe-blanks, so astoforcthem up against the pattern g, and at the same time graduallythicken the metal vertically by lateral pressure upon it. Thesesqueezing-cams k k are acted upon to effeet their return by springs Z Z.should be arranged with relation to the rotary hammers H, if hammers beused, that the heels of the shoes will Lbe firmly held between the camsuntil the operation of hammering ceases.

The hammers H H, which iinish the shoes so far as the operation of themachine upon the shoes is concerned, consist of cylinders applied toheads I I upon shaft G, so asto rotate freely. These hammers are rotatedrapidly about the axis of shaft G in a direction with the rotation ofthe table B, and they also rotate about their own aXes when they strikethe surface of the shoes.

I have described and represented in the drawings a compressing-roller,and also a series of hammers arranged so as to operate consecutivelyupon the shoe-iron for the purpose of hardening it, reducing it to theproper thickness vertically, and leaving the upper surfaces of the shoesiiat and iiush with the top'surfaces of their respective pattern-blocks.I do not, however, confine my invention to the use or combination ofboth the hammers and the roller, as the hammers may be used without theroller 5 or this roller may be used without the hammers.

The last operation upon the shoes while on The cams the machine is tolift their toes sufficiently high to allow of the removal of the shoesby means of an inclined plane arranged so as to receive the raised shoesupon it as the table rotates. This I effect by means of pins h and thefixed cam c. (Shown in Figs. 2 and 4.)

Having described my invention, what I 'Y claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The arrangement of the series of removable horseshoe-pattern beds C Caround the central hub, c, of the horseshoe-bending table, and in therelation shown to the mechanism specied for bending and condensinghorseshoe-blanks, all substantially as set forth.

2. The arrangement of the cams k k, bending devices jj, horizontal bedA, horizontal rotary table B, and patterns g g, substantially in themanner and for the purpose described.

3. The combination of the cams 7c k, bending devices j j, horizontalbedy A, horizontal rotary table B, patterns g g', and rollers N l?,substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

4. The two rollers N P, rotary table B, and

' bridge U, arranged and operating substantially

